The Bend City Council met on May 6, 2026, for a regular meeting that included proclamations, council reports, public comments, consent agenda, and public hearings on an Economic Improvement District (EID) and short-term rental code amendments. The council also approved a bikeway construction contract and a second reading of a timber yards development code amendment. The meeting was followed by the Bend Urban Renewal Agency meeting, where a loan program concept was discussed.
Okay. All right. Uh, the Ben City Council will now meet an executive session pursuant to RS one nine two, six, six, zero, two, e to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions. Representatives of the news media and designated staff shall be allowed to attend the executive session. Representative of the news media are specifically directed not to report on any of the deliberations during the executive session except to state the general subject of the session as previously announced. And immediately following the city council executive session, the Bend Urban Renewal Agency will meet an executive session pursuant to ORS one nine two point six six zero two to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions. No decision may be made in executive session at the end of the executive session. Go ahead. All right. We will call to order this meeting of the Benn City Council. Please silence your cell phones. I heard that's my alarm in the morning. I'm getting freaked out. I swear I'm awake. Someone's okay. All right. Now we're ready to do our roll call. Thank you. Um, so start on your end, Counselor Platt. Steve Bloody. Megan Norris, she her. Megan Perkins, she, her. Melanie Keebler, she, her. Mike Riley, he him. Ariel Mendes, Gina Franzosa, she, her. Okay, we're gonna start with a few proclamations that we have tonight. So our first proclamation is Child Care Provider Appreciation Day. Counselor Norris. Yes, uh Provider Appreciation Day is a celebration on the Friday before Mother's Day that recognizes the work of child care providers, teachers, and other educators of young children. The first 2,000 days of a child's life are crucial for their development, with approximately 85% of brain growth happening by the time a child reaches kindergarten. Researchers at the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Science have determined that the human brain grows more in the first three years of life than during any other period, and the quality of the experiences and interactions that children have during that time can help promote learning. According to the 2024 United States Census, an estimated 4.1% of Benn's residents are under five years old. Study a 2021 study by the Oregon Childcare Research Partnership identified Deschutes County as a child care desert. The City of Bend has provided assistance in the form of grants and partnerships to help accelerate the development of child care centers in Benn and continually seeks to identify and remove obstacles to operating these essential services within our community. Neighbor Impact's child care resources team worked to add 273 new child care slots across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties and Warm Springs in the year of 2025 alone, and relies on partnerships with providers in our community to create options for central Oregon families. This year, the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care announced that Central Oregon is no longer considered a child care desert for ages three to five. And we celebrate the tremendous work of our nonprofit partners and providers in reaching that milestone. We must continue to advocate for and support our investment in the essential service they provide. And we have Hannah and Brittany from Neighbor Impact here. If you want to come up and if there's any if you want to say a few words at all about sort of the work you do while they're coming up, I also want to recognize we have one of our oldest daycare providers here. Um Sue and Hannah Sue Sendel and Hannah St. Johnstendal are here. Um and they actually run the cottage daycare where I went as a child. Oh my gosh. Um and if you want to know what I look like, this is what I look like. So Bernine, here anything else you want to add. I serve as the intake and outreach specialist at Neighbor Impact Childcare Resources. Um we support the child care providers here in Central Oregon, all of them. Um I wanted to start out by thanking you all. Um the Benn City Council for this meaningful proclamation.